Ear to the ground:

“Everything gives you cancer. Just eat what you want.”
– Local red meat lover’s reaction to recent news that processed meats cause cancer

Disjointed

Big tobacco may be going green. But not in the way you might suspect. According to a Tuesday report on the DailyBuzz website, cigarette giant Philip Morris has rolled out (pun intended) its new Marlboro “M” brand marijuana cigarette.

Coming in a bright green box bearing the word “cannabis” on the label, Phillip Morris apparently plans to market its latest offering in Colorado and Washington D.C.

“Our company has been high on the idea for marketing cannabis and has been monitoring the market for some time,” Serafin Norcik, Philip Morris’ Senior Vice President, said in the DailyBuzz report. “We have finally made the decision to take the leap and support Colorado and Washington D.C. in their right to legalized marijuana.”

According to the story, sales of the “M” brand (at $89 a pack) have reportedly raked in $1 million in 2015, although we have yet to see them on local shelves.

If this sounds like someone just blowing smoke, you may be right. Although various other news outlets reported on the new “M” cigs, a 2014 story on Snopes discredits it as nothing but a pipe dream.

Let’s go crazy

And speaking of your highness, if you can’t seem to get enough of his purple majesty, Prince, the seemingly ageless royal overlord of funk and ruffles now has his own Instagram page. Appropriately dubbed – wait for it – “Princestagram,” the Purple One and his handlers announced the launch of the page last week. As expected, it contains enough Prince eye candy to satisfy even the most crazed fan.

The declaration from on high comes as a bit of a surprise after Prince’s somewhat tenuous relationship with the Internet (in 2007, he threatened to sue fan sites using his picture.) But the latest move appears to be a sign he has finally made peace with his online presence, most certainly to be heralded by the sound of doves crying.

Kickstarted

Good news for local photographer Gunnar Conrad: his 2016 Kickstarter calendar campaign was a raging success. Bad news for you procrastinators out there: with the goal met, there are only a limited number of calendars left before Conrad pulls the plug. Good news for you bargain-minded procrastinators: the price for one calendar is a mere $20 (about the price of a large fruitcake.) Bad news for us: We erroneously said the price for one calendar was $50. Good news: If you actually paid the $50, you will be pleasantly surprised come December that you get not one, but three calendars, perfect for those with extremely large houses or extended families.

Remember: the calendar is not sold in stores. To get yours, go to www.kick starter.com (search “Gunnar”) by Nov. 8.